Jon Hopkins - Monsters OST

The recently released ‘Monsters’ is causing somewhat of a stir in the film industry, Gareth Edwards’ low budget and clever use of CGI seems to have gained quite a few fans if everything in the papers is true.

That ethos, of subtlety and gentle suggestion, is reflected on the film’s score, composed by Jon Hopkins, who has previously worked with Brian Eno on a small number of other feature films. Here Hopkins gets the chance to flex his own musical muscles, with some genuinely affecting moments throughout the twelve tracks on offer.

The problem when faced with reviewing a soundtrack is that the music is meant to be married to the film’s visuals. Having said that, the mood of the film is successfully carried over to the music; think swathes of synths and electronic strings and ambient soundscapes and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. Both ‘Journey’ and ‘Water’ offer up large helpings of eerie melancholy and it isn’t until the stirring ‘Underwater’ that there’s any hint of (extraterrestrial) menace that the film infers.

If anything there are strong musical nods to William Orbit and Brian Eno in equal measure. ‘Insides’ could be Hopkins’ finally letting go, on his keyboard of course, whilst other moments like ‘Spores’ and ‘Attack’ are reminiscent of the forlorn and desperation of ‘The Road’’s soundtrack by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. 

On the whole, this is a classy affair, where overindulgence seen in the likes of more flamboyant blockbusters (like Han’s Zimmer’s ‘The Dark Knight’ score), is deservedly dropped in favour of quiet restraint. Not essential but quietly affecting nonetheless.